Wrestling

Cody Rhodes is kind of a big deal

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Raw airs tonight (Dec. 26) with a clip show featuring the best moments of WWE in 2022. This is the fifth episode of Raw during the nine week build towards Royal Rumble, which takes place on Jan. 28.

This is a good time to remind fans that Cody Rhodes is a big deal

There isn’t expected to be any story advancement on tonight’s Raw because this episode is all about looking back on “The Absolute Best of 2022.”

WWE has three hours to fill out with previous footage from the year. That’s a ton of time to devote to this theme, so you can be sure that WWE will be replaying some of the greatest matches and moments of the year throughout tonight’s broadcast.

That means WWE can use tonight’s episode to remind you that Cody Rhodes is kind of a big deal. He only wrestled on three WWE pay-per-view events this year before getting injured, but it can be argued that he had the best match of the night on all three of those shows. And it’s not crazy at all to think that he had the WWE match of the year when he competed with a torn pectoral muscle inside Hell in a Cell against Seth Rollins. It was a legendary performance from Cody, to say the least.

Ever since Cody had surgery in June, rumors have persisted that he will return at next month’s Royal Rumble 2023, perhaps winning the titular match en route to main eventing WrestleMania 39 against Roman Reigns.

If that is indeed one of the plans WWE is juggling around while waiting on The Rock to make a decision about working WrestleMania, then there’s no better way for WWE to get fans hyped up for Cody’s upcoming return than by airing his incredible Hell in a Cell torn pec match in full on tonight’s clip show. It’s time to get excited about Cody’s impending return.

The rest of the best of 2022

Many of WWE’s best moments of the year occurred on pay-per-view. There are plenty of great matches WWE can choose to replay tonight, including these five, just to name a few:

  • Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch (WrestleMania 38)
  • Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn (WrestleMania 38)
  • Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (SummerSlam 2022)
  • GUNTHER vs. Sheamus (Clash at the Castle)
  • Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul (Crown Jewel 2022)

There are so many other great moments that can be featured on this episode, including:

  • Bray Wyatt returns to WWE
  • Liv Morgan wins the Money in the Bank contract and cashes in on Ronda Rousey
  • Steve Austin gets back in the ring for his first match in nearly 20 years
  • The debut of WarGames on the main roster, with the return of The Man
  • Dominik Mysterio betrays his father and falls under the spell of Rhea Ripley
  • Sami Zayn popularizes the word “Ucey” and works his way into The Bloodline
  • Cody Rhodes returns to WWE
  • Kevin Owens is driven mad by Ezekiel, the younger brother of Elias
  • Paul Heyman turns his back on Brock Lesnar
  • The Judgment Day boots Edge out of their group
  • The Usos become the longest reigning tag team champions in WWE history
  • Kurt Angle brings back the milk truck to hose down Alpha Academy
  • Drew McIntyre challenges for the Universal championship on WWE’s UK PPV

The above lists show that WWE has a lot of material to draw from to fill out time on tonight’s clip show. However, WWE’s absolute best moment of the year probably won’t be mentioned at all; that’s when Triple H took over WWE creative after Vince McMahon resigned from the his position in disgrace. WWE’s TV shows have been noticeably improved ever since the change was made, and it’s the single biggest reason why fans have a lot more optimism about WWE’s product going forward.

Stephanie McMahon did lead the live audience in a “Thank you Vince” chant on SmackDown after he was forced to step down, but it was a very bad thing to do at the time and WWE should steer clear of replaying that footage tonight.

Sasha Banks and Naomi winning the women’s tag team titles would also normally be featured on a “best of” show like this, but you know, I’m thinking WWE will pretend like that one never happened.

Are there any under the radar moments or matches that you hope WWE will shine the spotlight on during tonight’s “The Absolute Best of 2022” episode of Raw? More importantly, how much of this clip show do you actually plan to watch?

Let us know in the comments below, Cagesiders.

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